According to the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), China’s new Food Safety Law will come into force on October 1. The tough new law was adopted by the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) in April. Offenders and their supervisors will receive the heaviest criminal, administrative and civil penalties if they break the law. Twenty-one provincial public security departments have set up and trained specialised police for food crime. Some selected food crimes will be broadcast on TV, promoting public awareness on food security and the law. Companies that violate the law will face further restrictions on land use and loans, as well as paying more taxation.

China recently published a white paper on gender equality, providing a comprehensive review of the country’s policy on women. The paper said that equality between women and men has always been a constitutional principle, and China has already developed policies, laws and regulations to ensure it. The country fully protects women’s economic interests and employment opportunities, implementing policies to support female officials, professionals, and technicians, as well as improving women’s social security in areas of industrial injury insurance, medical care and maternity. One quarter of Chinese entrepreneurs are female and over 55 percent of Internet businesses are owned by females. Over 70 percent of women took major family decisions with their husbands, while increasing numbers of men share housework with women. This shortens the housework time gap between the two genders from 150 minutes 10 years ago to 74 minutes now.

Four hundred and fifty Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) delegates recently attended the 10th VPA Party Congress in Hanoi, reviewing the outcome of the 9th congress and determining related goals and missions for the VPA party organisations during the period from 2015 to 2020. The 10th congress discussed draft documents for the upcoming 12th National Party Congress next year and gave feedback to the Party Central Committee. The Party and the Central Military Commission General Secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, praised the VPA party organisations and their achievements in the past five years, and said that the VPA must firmly safeguard the country’s independence, territory and sovereignty, protecting the Party, state, people and socialist regime.

A gas cylinder exploded, killing four union workers and injuring another four at the Shital shipbreaking yard in Bangladesh. The accident occurred when two ships were being dismantled, and four workers suffered severe life threatening burns. The Bangladesh Metalworkers’ Federation held several protests, demanding safety protection for the workers in the industry and compensation for the families of the dead and injured workers. Twelve workers were killed and another 17 severely injured while working at the country’s shipyard in 2015.